Monthly Archives: August 2011

2-Tone and I will actually be in PHILA earlier that day giving a talk about SHAOLIN JAZZ and since we’ve been wanting to do a listening party in Philly since we dropped the project we felt like what better time than now.

This is HUGE for the DC skate scene. Shouts to Darren Harper for putting me on:

Maloof Skateboarding and Events DC, the official convention and sports authority dedicated to attracting premier events to the District, today announced a multi-year agreement to host the Maloof Money Cup, presented by Vans, on a world-class skate park to be built on the RFK Stadium Festival Grounds. This skate park, to be named Maloof Cup Park, will host the world’s best professional skateboarders at the inaugural Maloof Money Cup D.C. September 3-4. Tickets for Maloof Money Cup D.C. are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

Designed by Pro Skater Geoff Rowley and Joe Ciaglia’s team at California Skateparks, the15,000-square-foot skate park is the first major skate park in Washington, D.C. and is inspired by Freedom Plaza and the architecture up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.

“It was important for us to take design elements from real D.C. skate spots and try to replicate them and hopefully complement them as much as possible,” said Rowley. “The local skaters will recognize some of these influences like the Freedom Plaza Ledges and the Golden Rail made famous by legendary locals like Pepe Martinez, Chris Hall and many more original D.C.rippers,” said Rowley.

I’m sure some will, after seeing the other entries, question our decision and that’s cool especially after seeing those designers who also submitted a front and back cover. However, the rules called for album covers and not a front and back – with the album cover front being what we based our judgement on. Don’t get it twisted though, we really appreciate everyone’s efforts including the designers that went the extra mile and submitted two entries.

That said, and without getting into a list of details, we felt that Shamona’s album cover covered all of our criteria to a “T.” To see more of Shamona’s work click here and if you’re interested in contacting her directly: shamona.stokes@gmail.com.

Shouts again to the designers who participated, VANS OTW and Staple Design for providing product and promo support, and the fans that have continued to support SHAOLIN JAZZ. We’ve got some very cool creative extensions coming.